St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy

What St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy does

St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy is a state-funded Catholic secondary academy located on Bradford Road in Menston, West Yorkshire, England, operating within The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust (a multi-academy trust comprising 16 schools) under the spiritual oversight of the Diocese of Leeds. The school opened in 1964 and is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2024-2025; its motto is 'Sub tuo Praesidio' (Under your Protection). It serves approximately 1,100 students aged 11-18 across five-year groups (Years 7-11) plus a Sixth Form, drawn from a defined catchment area covering Otley, Pudsey, Horsforth, Yeadon, Ilkley, and Skipton, with admissions for Year 7 processed through Leeds Local Authority's Common Preference Form.

The academic offering comprises the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3 and 4 plus A-Level and Applied General courses in the Sixth Form, supplemented by The Bishop Wheeler Baccalaureate (a Key Stage 3 character-education programme), Oxbridge and Medicine preparation, the Competitive Courses Programme, and a broad extracurricular surface including Duke of Edinburgh, debating, music, drama, sports, and the Bambisanani international partnership with KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The underlying technology stack is commodity: Microsoft Office 365 for email and Teams, SharePoint for document management, ParentPay for payments, and iCal feeds for calendar distribution. Specialist pastoral infrastructure includes an Executive SENCO, an Inclusion Learning Support Manager, and relationships with external agencies (STARS Autism Support, CAMHS, Educational Psychology Service, Visual Impairment Team).

The business model is government-funded: tuition is free, with revenue derived from per-pupil local-authority funding augmented by ancillary streams including school lettings, catering, uniform sales, trips, and after-school activities. The school was awarded Outstanding in all areas by OFSTED in February 2025 and Grade 1 Outstanding in the parallel Section 48 inspection, with a Progress 8 score of +0.58 (2025, provisional), 80% Basics 9-4 at GCSE, 49% of 2024 Sixth Form leavers progressing to Russell Group universities, and 95% progressing to education, apprenticeship, or employment.

Name

St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy

Legal name

St. Mary's Menston, A Catholic Voluntary Academy

Website

https://stmarysmenston.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

St. Mary's Menston is a state-funded Catholic secondary academy in West Yorkshire, England, serving approximately 1,100 students aged 11-18 across five year groups and a Sixth Form. It operates within The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust and is rated Outstanding by OFSTED (February 2025).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Elementary and Secondary Schools (611110)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

Keywords

• Catholic secondary education
• Sixth form programs
• GCSE A-Level courses
• Character education programs
• School pastoral support

Headquarters

HQ city

Menston

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Education Funding: As a Catholic voluntary academy, the school receives government funding for education provision. Additional revenue comes from school lettings, catering services, and optional paid activities such as trips and after-school clubs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy provides state-funded Catholic secondary education for students aged 11-18 across Years 7-13. The school delivers a broad academic curriculum covering GCSEs in Years 10-11 and A-Levels in its Sixth Form, alongside a distinct Bishop Wheeler Baccalaureate character education program and a wide extra-curricular offering. Pastoral care and student welfare are central to the school's offering, complemented by international engagement through partnerships such as the Bambisanani Partnership.

Product overview

St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy offers a comprehensive secondary school education programme spanning Key Stages 3 and 4 (Years 7-11) and Sixth Form (Post-16). The core educational offering includes a broad curriculum with traditional academic subjects, religious education, modern foreign languages, arts, and technology. The Bishop Wheeler Baccalaureate programme provides character education at KS3 level. The school supplements classroom learning with extensive extra-curricular activities including sports, music, drama, and international partnerships such as the Bambisanani Partnership. Comprehensive pastoral and SEND support services are integrated throughout all year groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Progress 8 score of +0.58 (significantly above national average)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt. Mary's Menston is part of The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust, a Catholic multi-academy trust comprising 16 schools. The trust provides governance, shared policies, and support while maintaining subsidiarity - allowing decisions to be made at the most appropriate local level. The trust is overseen by Directors appointed by the Bishop of Leeds.
• Bambisanani PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership with schools in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Bambisanani Partnership promotes global citizenship, cultural exchange, and community service. The partnership involves student exchanges, collaborative projects, and fundraising for South African communities. Notable former student Joanne Milner serves as Chief Executive of Debrett's as a trustee of the partnership.
• Diocese of LeedscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Diocese of Leeds appoints Foundation Governors to the Academy Council and provides spiritual oversight for the Catholic character of the school. The school operates under Catholic educational guidelines and maintains strong ties with local parishes.
• External Support AgenciesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe school maintains relationships with STARS Autism Support Team, Medical Needs Teaching Service, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), Mindmate Leeds, Visual Impairment Team, and the Educational Psychology Service to support students with SEND and additional needs.
• Leeds and Bradford Local AuthoritiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFor safeguarding concerns outside school hours, the school directs families to Leeds Children's Social Work Services Emergency Duty Team (0113 535 0600) and Bradford Children's Social Work Services Emergency Duty Team (01274 431 010).

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• St Ambrose College: Catholic voluntary aided boys' secondary school in Altrincham; directly comparable as a faith-based Catholic secondary academy serving a similar 11-18 age range with strong academic outcomes.
• Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School: Catholic voluntary academy secondary school in London with a similar faith-based admissions profile, strong academic results and a comparable all-ability Catholic ethos to St Mary's Menston.
• Cardinal Newman College: Catholic sixth form college in Preston offering post-16 education with strong progression to university; competes with St Mary's for Sixth Form applicants in the North of England.
• All Saints' Catholic High School: Catholic voluntary academy secondary school operating under a similar diocesan model to St Mary's, offering KS3-KS5 provision with faith-based admissions criteria.
• St Mary's Catholic Comprehensive School: Catholic co-educational secondary school in the London Borough of Hounslow offering the same 11-18 age range and faith-based curriculum model as St Mary's Menston.
• Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College: Catholic post-16 institution offering A-Levels and vocational pathways; comparable to St Mary's Sixth Form in terms of Catholic ethos and progression outcomes, although it competes for the same post-16 student pool.
• St Bede's College: Catholic co-educational secondary school in Manchester with a parallel Catholic mission, broad curriculum and Sixth Form offering, comparable to St Mary's in product mix and ethos.
• Bishop Heber High School: Church of England voluntary academy secondary school in Cheshire with a similar faith-based admissions policy, comprehensive KS3-KS5 offering and strong extracurricular programme.
• St Wilfrid's Catholic High School: Catholic secondary school in Lancashire with comparable faith-based admissions, GCSE/A-Level curriculum and Sixth Form provision to St Mary's Menston.

Others

• The Bishop Wheeler Catholic Academy Trust: The multi-academy trust that governs St Mary's Menston; comparable as a parent/strategic entity that operates 16 Catholic schools across the Leeds Diocese with shared governance, policies and scale benefits.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/268362606694125
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/st--mary's-menston-catholic-voluntary-academy

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about St. Mary's Menston Catholic Voluntary Academy